Islamophobia functions as cultural racism tied to perceived non-whiteness

Evidence

Taras (2012: 4) notes that ‘Islamophobia thus entails a cultural racism that sets Muslims apart. As a result, the Islamic migrant is constructed as someone burdened by alien attributes and as a carrier of antagonistic, threatening values’. For Cole and Maisuria (2007), Islamophobia is a product of racism, and therefore racist abuse can also be viewed in the lens of Muslims being a ‘risky’ group. They state that ‘Islamophobia, like other forms of racism, can be cultural or it can be biological, or it can be a mixture of both’ (Cole and Maisuria, 2007: 106). — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia, 22 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

If there is an explanatory factor that rivals religion in the debate over what drives Islamophobia, it is racism. Islamophobia is not racially blind, nor is it simply a manifestation of older forms of racism rooted in biological inferiority. It is an example of what some scholars have labeled “cultural racism.”cultural racism: hatred and hostility of others based on religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and ethnicity. This form of racism incites hatred and hostility based on religious beliefs, cultural traditions, and ethnic backgrounds. Animosity toward Muslims is expressed in terms of cultural and religious inferiority, with Muslims and Islam labeled as barbaric, violent, uncivilized, and inferior to Western culture and civilization. The presumed insurmountable differences between “Muslim culture” and the West serve as the basis for exclusion and discrimination. The argument of cultural inferiority has gained significant traction in recent decades, in part because many politicians, journalists, and public figures do not see it as racist; they assume that racism must involve overt appeals to skin color or biological inferiority. — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 92 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: European multiculturalism backlash revitalized anti-Muslim racism as cultural racism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 313; Cultural racism explains Muslim violence through religion rather than lived circumstances — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 621; Mainstream anti-Islamophobia defense framed bias as cultural misunderstanding, not racism (+19 more)

Broader Connections

• Islamophobia operates as a form of cultural racism, not a distinct phenomenon. #corroborates (0.96) — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia, 22
• Islamophobia operates as cultural racism rooted in religion, culture, and ethnicity rather than biology. #corroborates (0.94) — Green, Todd H, The Fear of Islam_ An Introduction to…, 92
• Islamophobia is increasingly theorized as a form of racism rather than mere religious prejudice #corroborates (0.92)
• Interpreting Islamophobia solely as cultural racism essentialises and reduces the faith #complicates (0.85) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 773
• Four conceptual moves permit the de-racialization of Islamophobia #complicates (0.80) — Runnymede Trust (ed. Farah Elahi & Omar Khan), Islamophobia, 165
• Islamophobia framing individualizes prejudice and obscures racial hierarchy #complicates (0.78)
• Racism has empirical grounding that Islamophobia still lacks #complicates (0.78) — Chris Allen, Islamophobia, 789